Part 15

GROUND-NUT. DWARF GINSENG. Aralia trifolia. Ginseng Family.

Stem.—Four to eight inches high. Leaves.—Three in a whorl, divided into from three to five leaflets. Flowers.—White, in an umbel. Fruit.—Yellowish, berry-like. Root.—A globular tuber.

The tiny white flowers of the dwarf ginseng are so closely clustered as to make “one feathery ball of bloom,” to quote Mr. Hamilton Gibson. This little plant resembles its larger relative, the true ginseng. It blossoms in our rich open woods early in spring, and hides its small round tuber so deep in the earth that it requires no little care to uproot it without breaking the slender stem. This tuber is edible and pungent-tasting, giving the plant its name of ground-nut.

GINSENG. Aralia quinquefolia. Ginseng Family.

Root.—Large and spindle-shaped, often forked. Stem.—About one foot high. Leaves.—Three in a whorl, divided into leaflets. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in a simple umbel. Fruit.—Bright red, berry-like.

This plant is well known by name, but is yearly becoming more scarce. The aromatic root is so greatly valued in China for its supposed power of combating fatigue and old age that it can only be gathered by order of the emperor. The forked specimens are believed to be the most powerful, and their fancied likeness to the human form has obtained for the plant the Chinese title of Jin-chen (from which ginseng is a corruption), and the Indian one of Garan-toguen, both of which, strangely enough, are said to signify, like a man. The Canadian Jesuits first began to ship the roots of the American species to China, where they sold at about five dollars a pound. At present they are said to command about one-fifth of that price in the home market.

PLATE VIII

PAINTED TRILLIUM.—T. erythrocarpum. ]

WILD SARSAPARILLA. Aralia nudicaulis. Ginseng Family.

Stem.—Bearing a single large, long-stalked, much-divided leaf, and a shorter naked scape which bears the rounded flower-clusters. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in umbels. Calyx.—With short or obsolete teeth. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Five. Fruit.—Black or dark purple, berry-like.

In the June woods the much-divided leaf and rounded flower-clusters of the wild sarsaparilla are frequently noticed, as well as the dark berries of the later year. The long aromatic roots of this plant are sold as a substitute for the genuine sarsaparilla. The rice-paper plant of China is a member of this genus.

SPIKENARD. Aralia racemosa. Ginseng Family.

Root.—Large and aromatic. Stem.—Often tall and widely branched, leafy. Leaves.—Divided into many leaflets. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in clusters which are racemed. Fruit.—Dark purple, berry-like.

CANADA VIOLET. Viola Canadensis. Violet Family.

Stem.—Leafy, upright, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, pointed, toothed. Flowers.—White, veined with purple, violet beneath, otherwise greatly resembling the common blue violet.

We associate the violet with the early year, but I have found the delicate fragrant flowers of this species blossoming high up on the Catskill Mountains late into September; and have known them to continue to appear in a New York city-garden into November. They are among the loveliest of the family, having a certain sprightly self-assertion which is peculiarly charming, perhaps because so unexpected.

The tiny sweet white violet, V. blanda, with brown or purple veins, which is found in nearly all low, wet, woody places in spring, is perhaps the only uniformly fragrant member of the family, and its scent, though sweet, is faint and elusive.

PLATE IX

WILD SARSAPARILLA.—A. nudicaulis. ]

The lance-leaved violet, V. lanceolata, is another white species which is easily distinguished by its smooth lance-shaped leaves, quite unlike those of the common violet. It is found in damp soil, especially eastward.

SOLOMON’S SEAL. Polygonatum biflorum. Lily Family.

Stem.—Slender, curving, one to three feet long. Leaves.—Alternate, oval, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Greenish-white or straw-colored, bell-shaped, nodding from the axils of the leaves. Perianth.—Six-lobed at the summit. Stamens.—Six. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—A dark blue berry.

The graceful leafy stems of the Solomon’s seal are among the most decorative features of our spring woods. The small blossoms which appear in May grow either singly or in clusters on a flower-stalk which is so fastened into the axil of each leaf that they droop beneath, forming a curve of singular grace which is sustained in later summer by the dark blue berries.

The larger species, P. giganteum, grows to a height of from two to seven feet, blossoming in the meadows and along the streams in June.

The common name was suggested by the rootstocks, which are marked with large round scars left by the death and separation of the base of the stout stalks of the previous years. These scars somewhat resemble the impression of a seal upon wax.

The generic name is from two Greek words signifying many, and knee, alluding to the numerous joints of the rootstock.

CHOKE-BERRY. Pyrus arbutifolia. Rose Family.

A shrub from one to three feet high. Leaves.—Oblong or somewhat lance-shaped, finely toothed, downy beneath. Flowers.—White or reddish, small, clustered. Calyx.—Five-cleft. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Numerous. Pistil.—One, with two to five styles. Fruit.—Small, pear-shaped or globular, berry-like, dark red or blackish.